St Bride's: Newstag:www.stbrides.com,2012-04-27:/news//32015-07-29T13:06:58ZMovable Type Pro 5.2.9Ann Barr Memorialtag:www.stbrides.com,2015:/news//3.17252015-07-22T10:30:00ZOn Wednesday, 22nd July, a service of thanksgiving and celebration for the life of Ann Barr was held at St Bride's.St Bride's Church, Fleet Street
On Wednesday, 22nd July, 2015 at 11:30am a service of thanksgiving and celebration for the life of Ann Barr was held at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street.

The BIDDING PRAYER

The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce delivered the bidding:-

We are here to honour the memory and to celebrate the life of Ann Barr. An extraordinarily gifted woman, who was outstanding in her field; brilliant, determined, original, and with a wonderful sense of fun. A woman who inspired great affection in those who knew her. As we remember her here today, we give thanks for all that she has meant to us, and for all that she was.

An opening prayer by the priest and poet, John Donne. Let us pray:

Bring us, O Lord, at our last awakening Into the house and gate of heaven, To enter into that gate and dwell in that house Where shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; No noise nor silence, but one equal music; No fears nor hopes, but one equal possession: No ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity In the habitations of your glory and dominion, World without end.

Amen.

]]>
"Honoured" bursary winner speaks of her hopes for the futuretag:www.stbrides.com,2015:/news//3.17222015-07-17T12:13:57ZMay Bulman will be the fourth recipient of the Guild of St Bride Journalism Bursary in September 2015. What an honour. They were the words that kept going through my head as I sat in the service at St Bride's...St Bride's Church, Fleet StreetMay Bulman will be the fourth recipient of the Guild of St Bride Journalism Bursary in September 2015.

What an honour. They were the words that kept going through my head as I sat in the service at St Bride's Church last Sunday.

As a young aspiring journalist, being supported by the spiritual home of the media to complete my Journalism MA at City University is about the best thing I could ask for.

Speaking to members of the congregation following the service, I realised that not only is the bursary going to be a huge financial help to me, but I also now have a special body of people behind me- many in the trade themselves- supporting me in my endeavour to become a successful journalist.

Having decided I wanted to go into journalism three years ago, I quickly realised that the only way to get there is to get on and do it. Go out. Find stories. Find my way into newsrooms. Write.

This is exactly what I did. From editing the Southampton Tab to writing articles in French for regional press out in Senegal, from getting a political scoop for The Mirror to fasting as part of a feature about Ramadan for my local paper, I've thrown myself into it.

There's no denying that it hasn't all been easy. It's taken persistence, self-motivation, risk-taking plus a lot of hard, unpaid working hours to get the wealth of experience and the portfolio of bylines I've had so far.

But I wouldn't change it for anything. I love the constant challenge that comes with being a journalist.

While print journalism may be branded a 'dying trade', I'm confident that communication of the news through the written word will not disappear, and I want to play a part in keeping the trade alive.

Seeing my words in print or onscreen, knowing they're being read by thousands, gives me a buzz like nothing else. I know how powerful a well-written, well-researched article can be, and hope to produce this kind of writing on a regular basis during my career.

With my bilingual capabilities and proven willingness to leave my comfort zone to report in foreign countries, I would like to use the hard skills I learn at City to work as a foreign correspondent for a while.

I hope that in doing this I can open UK readers' eyes to issues and customs in other parts of the world, which I believe is important both for developing a global awareness and for better understanding issues in our own country.

This will be no easy feat, so having the Guild behind me, supporting me through my time at City and remaining a close point of contact in the years that follow, will no doubt be hugely beneficial.

Winning this award has assured me that all the hard work I've put in so far has been worth it. As I go on to pursue my ambition, wherever my journalistic career might take me, St Bride's will remain an important part of it for helping me transform this passion into a profession.

]]>
Our new Curate is ordainedtag:www.stbrides.com,2015:/news//3.17092015-07-07T08:27:50ZOn the afternoon of Saturday 4th July, at St Paul's Cathedral, the Rector and members of the St Bride's congregation were delighted to attend the ordination to the diaconate of the Revd Dr Jeff Lake, who is our new Assistant...St Bride's Church, Fleet StreetOn the afternoon of Saturday 4th July, at St Paul's Cathedral, the Rector and members of the St Bride's congregation were delighted to attend the ordination to the diaconate of the Revd Dr Jeff Lake, who is our new Assistant Curate.

It was a great pleasure to welcome Jeff and his wife Sandra to St Bride's the following day for his first Sunday with us.

Jeff brings a wealth of skills and experience from his secular employment (he is continuing his work as a public health consultant, alongside his ministry here), and he will be a tremendous addition to our team here.

Jeff was brought up in Swansea where he lived until leaving to study at the University of Exeter and later the University of Northern Colorado and University College Worcester. Jeff originally trained as a physical education teacher before moving into public health. He has twice worked abroad at a Methodist School in the Bahamas and later at the Singapore Health Promotion Board. He is currently a Public Health Consultant in the London Borough of Barnet and lives between London and Lewes.

Jeff's wife, Sandra, lecturers at the University of Brighton in teacher education specialising in children's literature. Jeff and Sandra met whilst they were both PhD students at Worcester. Sandra was raised in Fleet Street, her father having been the caretaker at Serjeants Inn. Their 'two centre' lifestyle presents challenges but they both greatly appreciate the cultural richness of London and the Sussex coast and countryside.

Jeff was brought up in the Church in Wales but drifted away before returning to the faith at an Ashram in Bangalore! He has trained for ministry at the South East Institute for Theological Education, attending classes at Southwark Cathedral. His sending church is St Laurence, Falmer.

]]>
Anthony Smith Memorialtag:www.stbrides.com,2015:/news//3.16972015-06-18T10:30:00ZOn Thursday 18th June, a service of thanksgiving for the life of writer and adventurer, Anthony Smith was held at St Bride's Church.St Bride's Church, Fleet Street
On Thursday 18th June, 2015 at 11:30am a service of thanksgiving for the life of writer and adventurer, Anthony Smith was held at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street.

The BIDDING PRAYER

The Revd Canon Dr Alison Joyce delivered the bidding:-

We are here to honour the memory and to celebrate the life of a truly remarkable man. Anthony Smith was to the very last a fearless adventurer; a phenomenal writer; and a man of immense intellect, enthusiasm, and drive. As we remember him, and his extraordinary achievements today, we give thanks that the world was a richer place for his presence within it.

We begin with an opening prayer by the priest and poet, John Donne. Let us pray:

Bring us, O Lord, at our last awakening Into the house and gate of heaven, To enter into that gate and dwell in that house Where shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; No noise nor silence, but one equal music; No fears nor hopes, but one equal possession: No ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity In the habitations of your glory and dominion, World without end.

]]>
Wren Lecture Reviewtag:www.stbrides.com,2015:/news//3.16932015-06-18T09:02:28ZDavid Blackwell's review of the Annual Wren Lecture 2015: "Accident or Artifice? Designing a capital from Wren to Abercrombie" - given by Simon Thurley.St Bride's Church, Fleet StreetA review of the Annual Wren Lecture 2015: "Accident or Artifice? Designing a capital from Wren to Abercrombie" - given by Simon Thurley.

Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815 might be supposed to have had little impact on London. But the celebrations of the bicentennial of the Duke of Wellington's great victory provide an opportunity to reconsider that view.

Giving the fourth Wren lecture at St Bride's Simon Thurley, the architectural historian and former chief executive of English Heritage, suggested that London "triggered the whole movement to urban magnificence with the works undertaken after Waterloo." Between 1812 and 1841 Regent's Park, Regents's Street, Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park Corner were all laid out.

However the ideas behind these improvements stretched back into the previous century, and could not be attributed to a burst of patriotism after Waterloo, according to Mr Thurley. Instead the development of Regent Street was triggered by the desire of the government to realise more cash out of the Crown Estate.

Earlier in his lecture, Mr Thurley outlined the so-called "missed opportunity" to redevelop London after the Great Fire of 1666, following the plans drawn up by Sir Christopher Wren. History was to repeat itself after the blitz of the Second World War. He also noted that both Vienna and Paris developed into the imperial capitals we know today only after 1850 and at the instigation of the state, which also provided finance. So why was London - the largest city in the world and the centre of an empire expanding rapidly on the back of the omnipotent Royal Navy - so different?

Mr Thurley gave four main reasons. First, the lack of an overall city government. London grew around the commercial city and its links to Westminster, but the City Corporation declined to extend its power outside the Square Mile and its commercial purpose.

Second, London's position in national government was weak. Among the many fascinating facts to emerge from the lecture was that before the Great Reform Act of 1832 the City had only four MPs and Southwark and Westminster two each, and even after 1832 London (which had one-eighth of the country's population) had only 20 MPs out of the total 658.

Third, the majority of MPs representing the provincial cities were hostile to any spending on London. And fourth, there was continued pressure from commercial interests within the city - which had of course led to the medieval street plan being retained in the Square Mile after the Great Fire.

"London was, and is, par excellence a city that expresses private and individual values, ambitions and achievements rather than public or communal ones," asserted Mr Thurley.

One exception was the Metropolitan Board of Works, which financed the much needed sewage system and Thames Embankment through a duty on coal and wine in the 1860s. The London County Council's development of Kingsway and Aldwych (not completed until the 1930s) was financed mostly by the purchase of more land than was needed, which was then developed and sold at a profit.

Further wrangles over financing were sparked by the development of the Mall and Admiralty Arch. "Yes, this was Imperial London, but the government had sure not wanted to pay for it," said Mr Thurley.

The diversity of London was emphasised - the Gentlemen's Clubs in the West End, the banks and commercial buildings of the City, and the massive, privately funded impact of the railways - "it was all these privately conceived and funded works more than any state sponsored initiative that gave London its character," he said. He described the outcome as "a picturesque city," very different to the effects of the great boulevards of Europe which impress through scale, monotony and repetition.

So back to Wren. His big achievement was the skyline, with the theatricality of St Paul's Cathedral dome surrounded by the spikes of steeples, including our St Bride's. That was planned - an aesthetic programme to enhance London's picturesqueness, said Mr Thurley. "In a very English way" the apparent accident of London is, in fact, artifice, he concluded.